Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

इत्युक्तं ते मुनिवर त्वया पृष्टं हि यत्पुनः । अतोऽन्यच्छृणु ते वच्मि तीर्थकारणमुत्तमम्

Transliteration

ityuktaṃ te munivara tvayā pṛṣṭaṃ hi yatpunaḥ | ato'nyacchṛṇu te vacmi tīrthakāraṇamuttamam

Translation

Ainsi, ô meilleur des sages, j’ai répondu à ce que tu as demandé. Écoute maintenant davantage : je te dirai la cause suprême et l’origine de ce tīrtha sacré.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• uktam: (what is) said
• uktam: Karman (Content/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vac (धातु) → ukta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; ‘said/statement’ अर्थे

• te: to you
• te: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (6th/4th), एकवचन; संदर्भे ‘to you/your’

• muni-vara: O best of sages
• muni-vara: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय समास (वरः मुनिः); पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Kartr/Agent (Doer/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• pṛṣṭam: asked
• pṛṣṭam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prach (धातु) → pṛṣṭa (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘asked’

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• yat: what/that which
• yat: Karman (Relative object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

• punaḥ: again/further
• punaḥ: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• ataḥ: therefore
• ataḥ: Sambandha (Logical connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थक/तस्मात्-अर्थे (therefore)

• anyat: something else
• anyat: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘another (thing)’

• śṛṇu: listen
• śṛṇu: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपद; मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

• te: to you
• te: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन; ‘to you’

• vacmi: I tell
• vacmi: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद; उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन

• tīrtha-kāraṇam: the cause/origin of the sacred ford
• tīrtha-kāraṇam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास (तीर्थस्य कारणम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• uttamam: supreme/excellent
• uttamam: Karman (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Narrator/teacher-figure within the Ayodhyāmāhātmya frame (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ayodhyā-kṣetra (tīrtha-kāraṇa to follow)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: munivara (best of sages; unnamed in the excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage addresses another sage: ‘I have answered; now hear the supreme origin of this tīrtha.’ The scene shifts from action to revelation—listeners seated, a sacred map-like sense of place emerging.

Characters & Entities

• Muni (listener)
• Tīrtha (unnamed here)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places have sanctifying histories; hearing their origin with faith is itself meritorious.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse introduces the tīrtha’s origin; the specific confluence is identified in subsequent verses.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa (devout listening) to tīrtha-māhātmya is implied as a dharmic practice.